Neo QLED vs QNED: Which is the better Mini LED TV?

Both Samsung Neo QLED and LG QNED TVs combine quantum dots with a mini LED backlight.

Thus, it may be a common confusion that both of them should deliver almost the same type of performance.

While they may seem similar on paper, their real performances differ quite a lot.

Let’s dive into the comparison and see which one comes out to be the best TV in the battle of Samsung Neo QLED vs LG QNED.

What is Neo QLED?

The term “Neo QLED” is used by Samsung for its mini LED TVs.

Here, “QLED” stands for Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode, and refers to a type of LCD TV that uses a quantum dot layer along with a traditional LED backlight.

Similarly, a Neo QLED TV is also an LCD TV that incorporates a quantum dot layer.

However, the key difference lies in the backlighting technology.

Instead of using regular LEDs like a QLED TV, a Neo QLED TV uses mini LEDs in its backlight.

In simple terms, a Neo QLED TV is essentially a QLED TV that uses a mini LED backlight.

The term “Neo” may refer to these tiny, sand-like granular mini LEDs used in the backlight system.

A QLED TV is an improvement over a regular LED TV as it uses a quantum dot layer instead of traditional color filters for color reproduction.

This allows it to display more accurate colors and achieve a wider color gamut.

However, one common issue associated with a QLED TV or any other LCD LED TV is blooming.

This occurs when light from a bright object on the screen bleeds into surrounding dark areas, leading to a reduced contrast ratio.

As a result, the blacks don’t appear truly black, but rather greyish.

This happens because, in an LED LCD TV, the backlight is always on, no matter whether the screen requires brightness or not.

This is not like an OLED TV which completely shuts off its pixels when they are not in use.

A Neo QLED TV addresses this issue by making the use of a mini LED backlight.

In this, unlike some hundreds of LEDs used in a regular LED TV, several thousands of miniature sized LEDs are used.

These LEDs are about one fifth of the size of a regular LED.

Due to this, many more of them can be fitted in the backlight.

This large number of mini LEDs allows for several hundreds of dimming zones in a Neo QLED TV as compared to a just a few dozens of them in a normal LED TV.

These dimming zones offer much more precise control over the screen’s brightness.

Depending on how much light a group of pixels requires, each zone can adjust the intensity of the backlight accordingly.

Since Neo QLED TVs have a greater number of dimming zones, they can control smaller, more specific areas of the screen individually.

This results in significantly improved contrast compared to traditional LED TVs.

Since the dimming zones in a Neo QLED TV can dim themselves almost completely where light isn’t required, they produce much deeper blacks.

This significantly reduces the issue of blooming and improves the color accuracy as well.

Thus, you get to experience even the minute details on screen.

In fact, on some high-end Neo QLED TVs, the black levels are so deep that they come close to those of OLED TVs.

The mini LEDs used in Neo QLED TVs are inorganic in nature, which allows them to achieve very high brightness levels.

This makes these TVs extremely bright when needed, and with their excellent reflection handling property, they can very effectively fight glare in brightly lit rooms.

With their wide color gamut, high peak brightness, and much enhanced contrast ratio, Neo QLED TVs deliver outstanding HDR performance, whether you’re watching in a dark or a well-lit room.

What is QNED?

QNED is the name given by LG to its mini LED TVs, and it stands for Quantum Nano Emitting Diodes.

A QNED TV combines Quantum Dots and mini LED backlight along with NanoCell technology.

The use of quantum dots in a QNED TV enables it to achieve a wide color gamut with accurate colors.

The tiny nanoparticles in the Nanocell layer filter out any dull tones which would otherwise affect the image quality.

The mini LED backlight enables significantly more dimming zones, which enhances black levels and delivers better contrast compared to regular LED TVs.

Thanks to their high peak brightness, QNED TVs perform very well in brightly lit rooms.

They are very good for daytime viewing without worrying about glare from sunlight through windows.

Neo QLED vs QNED: What’s the difference?

Samsung’s QLED TVs mostly use VA panels, which already have high native contrast compared to standard LED TVs.

When combined with mini LED technology, these TVs can achieve highly precise local dimming.

As a result, the contrast levels in a Neo QLED TV are significantly superior to those of other LCD-based TVs.

LG, on the other hand, mostly uses IPS panels in its LCD displays, which generally have low native contrast.

While the implementation of mini LED technology in a QNED TV does improve the contrast ratio, it may not match the precision of local dimming found in a Neo QLED TV.

As a result, the black levels on a QNED aren’t as deep or rich as those on a Neo QLED.

This is one of the main differences between a Neo QLED and a QNED TV.

Now, let’s move on to the other differences.

Although both Neo QLED and QNED are LCD-based technologies, Neo QLED TVs easily outperform QNEDs when it comes to HDR brightness.

Thanks to their higher contrast, deeper blacks, wider color gamut, superior reflection handling, and higher HDR peak brightness, Neo QLEDs deliver a much more impressive HDR experience.

They achieve a larger color volume with bright, punchy and more realistic colors.

While QNED TVs also support a wide color gamut, their lower HDR peak brightness and lower contrast ratio limit their ability to match the color volume found in Neo QLEDs and their HDR performance.

However, one advantage QNED TVs have over Neo QLEDs is their wider viewing angles, thanks to the use of IPS panels.

This means colors remain more accurate even when viewed from off-center positions.

While Neo QLED TVs still offer decent viewing angles, they are slightly narrower compared to QNEDs.

When it comes to response time, both Neo QLED and QNED TVs perform well, offering fast and responsive performance, suitable for fast paced gaming.

However, their motion handling isn’t as smooth as that of OLED TVs which can turn their pixels on and off instantaneously.

Neo QLED vs QNED: Which one to buy?

A Neo QLED TV is much better than a QNED TV for viewing in both dark room and bright room environments, thanks to its higher contrast ratio and superior reflection handling.

It delivers a significantly better overall HDR experience, with deeper blacks and vibrant, eye-popping colors that bring out the finest details and nuances in every scene.

That being said, if you don’t usually watch TV from extreme angles, a Samsung Neo QLED TV is the better choice overall.

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